The anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s (Chainsaw Man) coming-of-age manga Look Back won the Grand Prix Award in the Feature Film Competition section at the third Niigata International Animation Film Festival on March 20.
The third edition of Asia’s largest and the world’s first feature-length animation-centric film festival was held from March 15 to 20 in Niigata Prefecture. This year’s Feature Film Competition section received 69 entries from 28 countries and regions. The jury consisted of film producer Manuel Cristóbal, artist, filmmaker, animator, and educator Christine Panushka, and stop motion animation studio Dwarf producer Noriko Matsumoto.
The reasons given for Look Back‘s selection for the Grand Prix Awards reads: “Perfect pacing and beautifully rendered characters. A film with new discoveries both in its theme and in its creators. We commend the technology, storytelling, and maturity of this film. Expectations are high for a new work from this fresh and exciting director.”
The film’s director Kiyotaka Oshiyama, animator Toshiyuki Inoue, and sound director Eriko Kimura had also received the Fukiya Koji Award, which honored individuals who made technical contributions to the animation industry, along with Yuki Hayashi, the soundtrack composer for the My Hero Academia: You’re Next film.
The 58-minute anime film released in Japan on June 28, 2024, earning 2.04 billion yen (13.73 million USD) from its total domestic run. The film has also won the Special Award at the 16th TAMA Film Awards, the Anime Film Award at the 49th Hochi Film Awards, the Animation of The Year award of the feature film section at the Tokyo Anime Awards Festival 2025, the Special Award at the 44th Fujimoto Awards, and the Best Animated Feature award at the 48th Japan Academy Awards.
